FOSS Patents on Friday announced that the USPTO had issued a preliminary ruling of invalidity regarding U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949, which covers "touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics".

Awarded in 2009, Apple's lawyers had affectionately referred to it as "the Steve Jobs patent" and argued it was a key pillar of Apple's argument that the USPTO had granted it exclusive rights to produce modern smartphones.

The late Steve Jobs's prized multi-touch patent was just invalidated. [Image Source: Reuters]

The rejection, like that of the rubber-band patent is only preliminary, not final. Steve Jobs is listed as the first author of the multi-touch patent, which was filed in April 2008.

Apple has hundreds of touch-related patents covering hardware, software, and GUI animations, much of which it in part purchased from startups. In 2006 it brought in TPK Holding Comp., Ltd. (TPE:3673) and Optera (a small U.S. display firm) to supply the multi-touch hardware for a secret project in 2006 [Sources: 1, 2] -- which would later be revealed as the iPhone. To supply the software, it in 2005 bought a company called FingerWorks, which had implemented and slightly expanded on some of the multi-touch gestures published by Bill Buxton back in the 1980s.

However, the rejected patent was considered among Apple's most crucial.

quote: Can you please provide me the address of Rotten Apples screen-manufacturing plant ? How about their CPU-manufacturing plant ??

What does that have to do with anything? You think Samsung won't stab you in the back while reaching around and smiling at your face?

However, companies tend to keep their business separate from their dislike of each other. Samsung has already stated that court litigations would not effect their money-making business with Apple. But that in no way means they won't try to bring Apple down.

Even the pro-loving crApple Yahoo is starting to run daily stories on crApple's slow demise. Everything from the supply guy trying to play CEO, to the rapid falling of marketshare, to lackluster reviews of crApple products, and their decreasing stock value (btw, is down $4.69 now).

I'm really enjoying watching them inch closer to that mythical $1,000 stock price and TRILLION dollar value. Oh wait, they are barely holding on to half of that and it is only getting worse.

Hurry and find some random pro-crApple blogger's site and pass off his opinion as "facts" per your usual tactics.

LOL... Yes, that is one of my favorite Tony quotes. "Apple will go over $1000 per share". As if record growth can continue forever. Eventually they would own the entire planet if that were true. With Apple taking an inoovation vacation, the competition was bound to surpass them and now that has happened.

Another great TS line - "No one wants a screen larger than 3.5 inches" . LOL. Until Android started outselling iPhone 5 to 1 with its larger screens... Then of course Apple followed suit and released a larger screen.